Christmas Carol
by JackiLeigh
Summary: White Collar and Violent Crimes compete every year at Christmas, and White Collar always loses. But this year they have a secret weapon...one Neal Caffrey.


CHRISTMAS CAROL

**AN: I hope you enjoy my little seasonal piece of fluff. Thanks, as always to my beta, ccluvshorses101. **

**FYI: I pictured Neal singing the song "Mary, Did You Know?" by Mark Lowry at his audition. I think it is an amazing song, and it would definitely showcase his voice. Enjoy!**

It happened every year, the White Collar Division lost to Violent Crimes. Every year it happened and every year White Collar said it would never happen again. But Violent Crimes had a ringer, Agent Andrea Wilkenson. And she had the voice of an angel. And every year, no matter how good White Collar was, not matter which song they sung, no matter how long they practiced, Violent Crimes always beat them out, if only by the smallest of margins.

But this year White Collar had its own secret weapon, only they didn't know it. Nobody in the division knew Neal Caffrey could sing. It was nowhere in the information Agent Peter Burke had memorized on the man. And it was definitely not known around the office. Caffrey had only been with White Collar a few short months. He was still on probation with the Peter, not to mention the rest of the division.

"You and El got a special date tonight?" Neal asked, noticing how fast Peter was working to get out of the office.

"No." Peter replied. "Something else, we compete with Violent Crimes every year. And every year we lose."

Neal just looked at Peter. This was the first he was hearing of any competition.

"They have a ringer…it's…."

"What kind of competition are we talking about here?" Neal asked.

"It's kinda…like a…choir." Peter said, waiting for the reaction he knew would come.

Neal grinned. "You…choir…singing…like hymns and robes and everything?" He paused. "You're a lapsed Catholic. Isn't that…sacrilegious?"

"Stop it, Neal. I'm may not be the best singer in the world, but I do love to sing." Peter admitted.

"I never knew that about you, Agent Burke." Neal replied.

"Well, yeah, there's a lot you don't know." Peter said looking at his desk satisfied. He then grabbed his coat and got up to leave.

"So this ringer for Violent Crimes…who is it?" Neal asked getting up to follow Peter out.

"Agent Andrea Wilkenson." Peter stated. "She's helped them win every competition since I've been with White Collar."

Neal nodded, continuing to follow Peter out of the office and the building.

Peter noticed. "June's is that way." He pointed in the opposite direction."

Neal grinned. "I thought it might come…watch."

Peter sighed and nodded. He and Neal proceeded to the Catholic Church a block away. The rest of the choir members had assembled. There were only about 10 there, and to Neal's surprise, one of them was Diana. He settled in a pew in the back of the church. He was sitting in the shadows. He was glad he had chosen that seat. When he looked around the church, he realized he was the only observer there.

Neal watched with great interest. He knew the song that they were singing by heart, it was a favorite. Neal heard the practice, and he had to admit that they were actually pretty good. Peter had a fairly decent voice and Diana's voice really surprised him. He decided to leave early. But not before he heard that the director, another White Collar agent, had decided to open up auditions. He wanted to recruit more members of the division so that they would have a chance to win this year. It was being opened up to everybody in White Collar. Auditions would be held in two days at 3 p.m. sharp. Neal smiled to himself as he got up to leave.

WC WC WC WC WC

Neal looked at the clock. It was 2:45 p.m. He had to leave. He made an excuse to Peter and hurried out of the building and towards the church. Peter left a few moments later. All the members were going to be there to see the auditions and vote on the new members. The director would be making the final decisions. Neal had left the rehearsal before he heard that part. So they all were in for a surprise.

The members had already heard three auditions. And, so far, none seemed impressed.

"Next!" The choir director called. Neal Caffrey stepped out onto the stage. He was surprised to see who was in the audience, almost as surprised as Peter.

"What are you doing, Neal?" Peter asked.

"Auditioning." Neal replied.

"This audition is open to agents." The director replied.

"You said anyone in White Collar." Neal stated.

"The 'agent' part was implied." The director retorted.

Conversation erupted amongst the rest of the members, regarding Neal. Neal's presence was momentarily forgotten.

Neal suddenly began to sing. Everyone stopped talking and looked at him, stunned by what they were hearing. Neal had an amazing voice.

Suddenly Neal stopped. He turned to leave but not before he commented. "I just wanted you to 'hear' what you would be missing out on." He then left the stage.

WC WC WC WC WC

Peter didn't see Neal until he came into work the next morning. Peter had gone home and had talked to El about Neal's audition. He had told her what an amazing voice Neal had. Peter had also told her Neal would be a wonderful addition to the choir.

"Well, was it truly only for agents?" El asked, as they ate supper.

Peter shook his head. "It's just it hasn't been an issue, until now." Peter took a bite of food. "I'm going to talk to Hughes."

El stared at her husband.

"Neal's that good." Peter assured her.

WC WC WC WC WC

"Reese, he really is that good." Peter said, as he pleaded his case sitting in Reese Hughes' office.

"I'm not sure what I can do, Burke." Reese admitted. "I mean if it were a work issue. I could make him, but it's not."

Peter sighed. "I realize that, Reese. But Neal really is that good. I'm tired of having Violent Crimes rubbing the loss in our faces every year. I know it's just bragging rights. But it would be really nice to be able to actually brag, at least one year."

Reese nodded. He considered himself a competitive person. He hated not solving cases, and he hated losing to Violent Crimes every year.

Reese sighed. "I'll talk to him. But I can't promise anything."

Peter nodded.

WC WC WC WC WC

The director conceded. He had to admit it, with Neal, they could win this year. The rest of the White Collar Division and Violent Crimes were in for a surprise. The only ones who knew about the new choir member were the other members, Reese, and El. And Reese and El had both had made sure to clear their schedules, they had to hear Neal sing.

The night arrived and Violent Crimes went first. They sang amazingly, as usual. But there were a few gasps of surprise as the White Collar Choir took the stage. There was a great deal of murmuring and a few giggles. That was until the singing started. The room was silent as Neal sang his solo. And after the performance was over, there was a brief moment of absolute silence before the room erupted into applause.

WC WC WC WC WC

There were a lot of smiling faces and congratulations as Neal walked through the office the next morning, heading up to Peter office. He smiled and nodded, accepting the compliments.

"Well?" Neal said, entering the room and sitting down in front of Peter's desk.

"That was…wow!" Pete said, smiling. "It was so nice to see Violent Crimes' faces when we won." He leaned back in his chair, relishing the victory. "A whole year of bragging rights."

"I'm happy for you guys." Neal admitted. He really had had a good time. And he had missed singing like that.

"Good." Peter said, handing him a sheet of lyrics. "We really want to be ready for next year."

THE END

**END NOTES: It may seem like I skipped something in this story. The part about Neal needing to be convinced to sing after his audition didn't go so well. But, I really think Neal would have expected the resistance. I think, because of his talent, he would believe that they would change their minds, in the end.**


End file.
